List of the top U.S. colleges 2019

What are the top 4-year colleges? Whether you’re looking to decide between a public or private university, find best-value colleges, or compare schools like Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and California Institute of Technology, we’ve got you covered.

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List of the top U.S. colleges 2019

Yale University

New Haven, CT

Our Methodology

We show up to 10 universities for our "best colleges" section. These universities are chosen based on Forbes or US News rank (depending on what you've chosen) and sorted alphabetically. If there are fewer than 10 universities that are Forbes (or US News) ranked, we add alphabetically. Forbes' 2016 Rank of America's Best Colleges factors in post-graduate success (including salaries and awards like MacArthur Fellowships, National Academy of Sciences seats, and performing arts honors), student debt, student satisfaction, graduation rate, and academic success (which includes how many students go on to get advanced degrees or receive prestigious fellowships).